Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder '''(c. 874-877 - July 17, 924) was an English king upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex. He captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes in 917 and became ruler of Mercia in 918 upon the death of Aethelflaed, his sister. All but two of his charter gave his title as "king of the Anglo-Saxons." He was the second king of the Anglo-Saxons as this title was created by his father. Life and Death Edward was born as the second surviving child and elder son to Alfred the Great and his Mercian queen, Ealhswith. He was born between 874 and 877. He was educated at court with his youngest sister. Until the 890s, the obvious heirs to the throne were Edward's cousins. When Alfred died in 899, Edward's cousin Aethelwold, the son of King Aethelred of Wessex, rose up to claim the throne and began a revolt. He seized Wimborne, in Dorset, where his father was buried. Edward marched to Badbury and offered battle, but Aethelwold joined the Danes in Northumbria, where he was announced as King. In the meantime, Edward was crowned King on June 8, 900. In 901, Aethelwold came with a fleet to Essex, and encouraged the Danes in East Anglia to rise up. In 902, he attacked English Mercia and northern Wessex. Edward retaliated by ravaging East Anglia. The two sides met at the Battle of the Holme on December 13, 902. The Danes were victorious, but they suffered heavy losses, including their King, Aethelwold. Relations with the North proved problematic for several more years. In 909, he sent an army to harass Northumbria. In 910, they retaliated by attacking Mercia. The two armies met at the Battle of Tettenhall on August 5, 910 - the Anglo-Saxons were victorious. Edward extended the control of Wessex over the whole of Mercia, East Anglia, and Essex, conquering lands occupied by the Danes and bringing the residual autonomy of Mercia to an end in 1918, after the death of his sister, Aethelflaed. Her daughter, Aelfwynn, was the ruler of Mercia for couple of months before she was deposed and sent to Wessex in December 918. The first half of the tenth century was critical in the development of the shire as principal administrative unit in England, and Edward was responsible for shiring Mercia and the eastern Danelaw. The recognition of Edward's overlordship in Scotland led to his successors' claims of suzerainty over that Kingdom. Edward reorganized the Church in Wessex. Edward died on July 17, 924 leading an army against a Welsh-Mercian rebellion and was buried. '''Children By first wife, Ecgwynn: * Athelstan of England * Edith - m. Sihtric Caech By second wife, Aelfflaed: * Eadgifu - m. Charles the Simple * Aelfweard of Essex * Eadgyth - m. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor * Eadhild - m. Hugh the Great * Aelfgifu * Eadflaed - unmarried, nun. * Edward of Wessex By third wife, Eadgifu: * Edmund I of England - m. (1) Aelfgifu of Shaftesbury (2) Aethelflaed of Damerham * Eadred of England - unmarried. * Edburga of Winchester * Eadgifu - existence disputed.